Man disrupts church service because of parking woes

Packed to the brim, all 160 lots in the Church
of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour are often full on weekends. So
some chuchgoers resort to parking along Siglap Hill. -- LAU FOOK
KONG

To keep cars away, some residents have taken to
placing traffic cones outside their gates. Others stand at their
gates just before mass starts to fend off churchgoers. -- LAU FOOK
KONG

Man disrupts church service because of parking
woesA churchgoer's car was blocking his front gate; man being
investigated for disturbing assembly

By Ben Nadarajan

FED UP with churchgoers who parked their cars right in front of his
house, a man stormed into a Catholic church in Siglap during mass
and demanded that something be done about the problem.

A churchgoer at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour
reported the incident to the Home Affairs Ministry, and police are
now looking into it.

The man is being investigated for disturbing a religious assembly -
an offence under the Penal Code. He is also under probe for
uttering words that hurt the religious feelings of another person.
If found guilty, he could be jailed for up to a year for each
offence.

The man, who did not want to give his name, told The Sunday Times
yesterday that he lost his temper during the incident two weeks
ago. He wanted to go out but his front gate was blocked by another
car.

He said he walked to the church along Siglap Hill and asked a staff
member there to find the driver to move the car.

After waiting for 10 minutes in his two-storey terrace house,
nobody came. The managing director of a construction and
engineering company then barged into the church, just as the
Reverend Gregorie Van Giang was about to read the Gospel.

The man, who is in his 40s and a freethinker, said: 'The church, as
the host, should be responsible for its guests and not let them
park anywhere they want.'

Some churchgoers sympathised with him. 'We can understand his
frustrations. Many of us are also upset that our people are so
inconsiderate,' said housewife Evelyn Ng, 34.

Residents along Siglap Hill, a quiet neighbourhood off Changi Road,
have complained about parking problems to the police and Land
Transport Authority (LTA) on many occasions in the past.

Some of the older residents said the problems had been around for
20 years, but worsened when the church finished renovation works a
few years ago and more worshippers started attending mass.

Churchgoers park their cars along the road when all 160 lots in the
church have been taken up, as they often are on weekends when more
than 1,000 people attend services. Priests at the church have
reminded churchgoers not to park along Siglap Hill as this
obstructs traffic along the narrow two-way street, said members of
the congregation.

The church even made arrangements for people to park at nearby
Siglap View, in front of St Stephen's School. It is a five-minute
walk away, but few churchgoers park there.

'Most of the cars which park along Siglap Hill are of those who are
late and do not want to park far away,' said a church warden. 'Many
are also too lazy to walk just a little bit.'

Some residents have taken to placing traffic cones outside their
gates to keep cars away, while others stand at their gates just
before mass starts to fend off churchgoers.

Although residents have put up with the problem, several new home
owners are less tolerant.

Just last Sunday, a resident who moved in two years ago stopped his
car in the middle of the road and refused to budge for 10 minutes,
because his gate was blocked and he could not turn into his
house.

Another frustrated resident, businessman Eric Chin, 47, said: 'When
so many cars park along one side of the road, it leaves only one
lane free in the two-way street. Very often, cars get stuck.'

Residents also complained about some arrogant car owners.

Madam Ngiam Lee Cheng, 64, confronted one last year.

'But the man told me he pays road tax so he had a right to park
there,' she said.

To help end this stand-off between residents and churchgoers, the
police have stepped up patrols in the area.

The LTA will also put in double yellow lines by the end of the
week. Those caught parking illegally will be fined, given demerit
points or have their cars towed away.

I REFER to the article, 'Man disrupts church service because of
parking woes' (The Sunday Times, Aug 22), and would like to raise
two points.

First, having lived in Siglap Hill since late 1990, I can well
understand and sympathise with the man who disrupted a mass in the
Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour recently because he was fed
up with churchgoers who parked their cars right in front of his
house and blocked him from entering or leaving his home.

For years, people living in this quiet neighbourhood have been at
the receiving end of the inconsiderate behaviour of some
churchgoers who either park indiscriminately or are in such a hurry
to leave after mass that they refuse to give way to residents who
want to enter or leave their homes.

Most have put up with it, out of courtesy, grace and tolerance.
Obviously, the man cited in the report, whose identity I do not
know, must have been at the end of his tether.

This is not to say that I condone his outburst. All I ask is that
readers also reflect on whether those inconsiderate churchgoers who
so irked him ought also to bear their share of public odium.

Equally, the priests at the church and those who help in running it
must also ask themselves whether they have done enough to urge
churchgoers to spare a thought for those who live in the
area.

It is not enough for them to say they have tried - or plead that,
in the past, volunteers who came forward to help direct traffic and
keep order had been abused by some black sheep in the flock. They
must do better than that.

If they do not already know, let me say, on behalf of my fellow
residents, that our patience and tolerance are being worn really
thin.

My second point is that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will be
making a big mistake if, as reported, it goes ahead to draw double
yellow lines along Siglap Hill by the end of this week.

In so doing, it will be punishing all residents in the area by
making it illegal for their visiting friends and relatives to park
outside their homes - all because of a problem created once a week,
usually late Sunday morning, by a handful of churchgoers.

Drawing double yellow lines will not be helpful to the church. It
can only add to the irritation felt by residents towards
churchgoers.

It is not even solving the problem because the problem is not
parking along the street - residents have long put up with that as
long as it is done in an orderly manner and on just one side of the
street. The problem is indiscriminate parking on Sunday
mornings.

Drawing double yellow lines is taking the easy way out, which is
not something one should settle for in today's Singapore. The LTA
too must do better than that.

it's to imply tt the teachings of the church shld include
considerations too. i believe RC church taught their ppl well in
some areas and this area of loving neighbors as ourselves shld be
included as well....

it's to imply tt the teachings of the church shld include
considerations too. i believe RC church taught their ppl well in
some areas and this area of loving neighbors as ourselves shld be
included as well....

i say tt to protestants too.....

i'm not bias in anyway

ok lor. But don't put the picture there, pls pls pls, before any
other of our Catholic forumers see this. ok? can?

Originally posted by marlboro:[b]"If found guilty, he could be jailed for up to a year
for each offence."

wah lau.. in the 1st place its the church ppl tat 1st went
overboard wif their selfish behavior n in the end it was the victim
that will be punished...
[/b][/b]

well, he stupid what. Act like a bull.

I'm not saying the church people are right. In fact, I also agree
they are selfish. If the church ground doesn't have any parking
lots, too bad, park somewhere else lor. Walk a bit, won't die,
right? I have been walking to and fro bus stops before and after
Church Mass for the past decades.

If I were him, I walk into the church office and speak with the
person in charge. I'm sure the person is reasonable and will make
necessary annoucements or cooperate in some ways.

If person in charge refuses to help, I will get police to help.
Everytime see illegal parking, whether it blocks my way or not,
call the neighbourhood police.

I used to call Mata that ALL THE TIME at my old place, whenever
people parked illegally next to a HDB block to attend funeral
wakes, causing obstructions while the multi-storey car park is just
two mins walk away (actually only next block). I tell you, calling
Mr Mata is very useful one. Each time I called, for the rest of the
funeral wake days, nobody dared to park illegally liao. Probably,
the police warned the funeral wake family or what.